A Darker World
by Jayne Leigh
Summary: Chandler is dragged into a world which he had been desperately trying to avoid...will he be able to escape it all and get his old life back? A Chandler Fic Please R&R chapter 2
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, a new fic… its different from my normal ones mainly because there will be _no_ Mondler in this… sorry, guys… but I hope you all continue to read it…please review and let me know what you think! **

**A Darker World- Intro**

**Nick Hendon walked through the closed nightclub, his shirt half tucked into his pants half hanging out while his school tie was loosely hanging around his neck. He had just informed his parents that after graduation he wasn't going to college, instead his friend, Ryan and him were going into the nightclub business. They wasn't happy, his mother cried and his father shouted but it still didn't persuade him to change his mind It all started a year ago when the pair, who had been best friends all their lives were offered a job in a club but even though they were underage they looked older. Now their boss, Danny Ingram had offered them both a job, training them so they could run one of his new clubs when they turned 21, which neither of them could resist. However there was a downside to having this kind of job and that was there was alcohol and drugs available everywhere. Ryan had a problem with the drugs, everyone knew it but he promised Nick he could clean himself up so they could make a successful career out of it. Deciding that they would save up enough money to buy a club of their own one-day but it would be a decent club, one that did not accept drug dealing or any kind of illegitimate business. Ryan had another reason to stop using drugs and that was his little brother, who was just 6 years old…while most bothers hated each other and fought Ryan adored his little brother. He was the most important thing in his life and would do anything to protect him. So that also meant taking him wherever he went, saving him from hearing the shouting matches between his parents. So, that was it…they had their future set out in front of them… work hard for the next few years to get enough money to start up on their own so the two of them and Ryan's little brother could have a happy, safe future. **

"**Ry?" He frowned, seeing his friend lying in the middle of the dance floor, faced down. "You okay, man?"  
**

**He walked towards him but he still didn't answer or move. Panic rose from deep inside of him when he saw a needle sticking out of his arm. **

"**God, no!" He knelt down next to him, rolling him onto his back to see his face pale and vomit covering him. He shakily reach out two fingers to his neck, pressing it slightly, praying to feel a pulse but there was nothing. He quickly jumped up and raced towards the payphone in the corner. He dialled 991 and ordered an ambulance as fast as they could before running back to his friend. Telling himself it would be okay but knowing deep down it was too late.**

_**XxXxX**_

**6 year-old Chandler Bing sat on the stairs, hugging his knees to his chest tightly…listening to the sounds of his parents' cries…. Tears burned in his eyes as he figured out what was going on. Two police officers had turned up 15minutes ago, interrupting another argument between them. He was sent up stairs to his room, while they talked to the police but he reminded on the stairs, hoping to hear what was going on.** **Now he wished he had gone to his room, where he would probably be blissfully unaware, playing with his toys instead of sitting alone and scared…drags of the conversation that was going on in the next room, running though his mind…._ drugs and alcohol overdose, died…. Ryan._**

_**XxXxX**_

22 years later, Chandler walked into his apartment, throwing his keys in the general direction of the foosball table and only looked up when he heard them hit the floor. His mouth dropped open when he saw there was nothing left in the apartment except the entertainment centre and the big white dog.

"OH MY GOD!" He exclaimed.

"WHAT!" He heard Joey from inside the entertainment centre.

"Are you all right!" He asked as he let his friend out.

"Yeah…"

"What happened!"

"Awww, man! He promised he wouldn't take the chairs!" Joey whined as he got out.

"What the hell happened!" He asked again. "How were you locked in! And where the hell is all of our stuff!"

"Well, this guy came by to look at the unit and-and he said he didn't think big enough to fit a grown man!" Joey explained.

"So…You got in voluntarily!"

"I was tryin' to make a sale!" He defended himself. "Oh, man, if I ever run into that guy again, do you know what I'm gonna do?"

"BEND OVER!" Chandler snapped in reply.

_**XxXxX**_

"Aw, man I messed up…" Joey sighed as he was sat in Central Perk with Monica and Rachel.

"Oh come on, it could have happened to anyone…" Rachel tried to consol him.

"Really?"

"Well…no…" Rachel said slowly. "But you didn't mean for it to happen."

"I know but Chandler's so mad…" He stated.

"Oh, he'll get over it…" Monica added.

"I don't think so…" Joey shook his head. "All our stuff is gone…"

"It'll be okay, Joe…"

"But how am I meant to pay him back?" He questioned. "He's already pays for most of my rent and stuff!"

"Excuse me…" A guy in an expensive looking suit appeared behind them, designer sunglasses balanced on top of his spiked up black hair which had flakes of grey running through it. "I couldn't help but over hear…you were robbed?"

"Yeah…" Joey looked at him curiously.

"Oh, well its just I've recently moved and have some old furniture I need to sale…" He stated. "It's all good condition…"

"I don't know…" Joey replied, glancing at his friends. "I haven't got a lot of money…"

"Oh, it's very cheap…" He assured him. "how about you all come and have a look, see if we can sort a deal out…"

"Alright, okay…." He shared a look with the girls and they nodded slightly in approval and they stood up

"Great, follow me…" A grinned crossed his tanned face and led them out of the coffee house.

_**XxXxX**_

Chandler froze when entered the apartment to see it had been fully furnished.

"Where did all this come from?" He asked Joey, Monica and Rachel who were all stood grinning at him.

"We meet this guy who had just moved…" Monica told him, gesturing to brand-new looking furniture. "Isn't it great…"

"Yeah but I don't know if we can afford all this…"

"Don't worry, the guy is doing us a deal because he was having trouble selling it…" Joey added.

"I don't know…" Chandler looked around, spotting a wide screen TV with a surround sound system.

"Come on, man…I'll deal with everything…you won't need to do anything!" Joey assured. "Its my way of paying you back…"

"Joe, I told you not to worry about that…" He sighed, running his hands over his eyes…. Getting a bad feeling about all of this.

Before Joey could answer there was a knock at the door, Rachel pulled it open, smiling when she saw who it was.

"Danny, hey…"

"Hi, I was hoping you'd all be here…"

Chandler spun around when he heard that voice, he glared hatefully at the man that stood there.

"Oh hey, Chandler this is Danny…. The guy we got this from…" Joey explained.

"What!" Chandler turned his roommate. "Oh god, I knew this was to good to be true!"

"What's the problem?" Monica frowned slightly.

"I just came for my money…" Danny stated.

"Uh, already?" Joey stuttered.

"Yeah…that's not a problem is it…" He replied, his friendly manner from before gone.

"Uh…" Joey started but was cut off by Chandler.

"Just take the stuff back…" He told him. "We don't want it…"

"Sorry, I don't do refunds…" He smiled at Chandler.

"Alright, how much?"

"Oh a least at 15 grand…" He answered smugly.

"What!" Joey exclaimed. "You said you'd make us a deal…"

"Yeah well, I lied…"

"You can't do that!" Rachel protested.

"What do you want then?" Chandler asked.

"Well, I could use some more workers…"

"You want us to work for you?" Joey asked, slightly confused.

"Not you…him…" He pointed to Chandler.

"Why him?" Monica looked between the pair. "Do you know each other or something?"

"Lets just say we have a mutual friend…" Danny replied still watching Chandler. "So, what do you say?"

"I wouldn't work for you if you were the last guy on Earth…"

"Oh what a shame…" He said with mock disappointment before turning to walk to the door, he stuck his head around the frame. "Can you come in here a sec…"

Joey, Monica and Rachel took an involuntary step back when two muscular guys entered, one carrying a baseball back.

"You're going to beat me up because I won't work for you?" Chandler raised an eyebrow; surprised out how calm he sounded knowing inside he was scared.

"Nah, not my style…" Danny pulled some leather gloves on before taking the bat off the guy and threw it at Chandler who had no choice but to catch it. "However, that bat as been used an attack recently."

"What?" Chandler let it drop to the floor.

"Yeah, so I wouldn't want it to get in the wrong hands…" He picked the bat up again. "What with it having your fingerprints on it…"

"You can't do that!" Joey stepped to stand next to Chandler. "He has nothing to do with this…"

"Come on, Chandler…you know I always get what I want…" Danny ignored Joey. "I'll tell you what…. I'll let you think it about…Come to the club tonight if you accept…"

"And what if I don't?" Chandler questioned.

"Well, I'll just have to think of another way for this debate to be paid…" He replied smugly, pulling a brown envelope out of his jacket pocket and handing it to him.

"What's this?"

"Oh, just some photos of a robbery taking place…." He informed him. "Thought you might want to have a look…might be connected to your break in…"

Chandler watched him as he turned and left the apartment, the two guys following him. He pulled open the envelope, skimming through the pictures, anger rising inside of him…he had been set up.

"Chandler, what's going on?" Rachel asked. "Who is he and what does he want with you?"

"He's no one…" Chandler said quietly, studying the pictures.

"Are you going to do what he wants?" Monica asked, warily.

"I haven't got a choice…" He sighed and dropped into a chair.

"Yeah, you have…" Joey insisted. "We can all put pay money together…pay the debt."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter how much it is…" Rachel added. "We can get it if we tried…"

"It's not that simple…" Chandler told them, holding out the pictures.

"What are they?" Monica asked, looking at them.

"That's you three taking all this out of someone's apartment…" He replied, gesturing to the new furniture.

"What?" Joey looked confused. "He said we can have it…we're buying it off him!"

"Well, my guess is it's not his stuff to sell…"

"You mean it's stolen?" Rachel's face paled.

Chandler nodded. "Yeah so if I don't go work for him he's going to take these photos and that bat to the police…you'll get arrested for robbery and I'll go down for some attack…"

There was silence in the apartment as the three stared down at the photo, stunned about what was happening.

"I can't believe this…" Joey mumbled. "I thought he was a good guy…I actually liked him!"

"Chandler, we're so sorry…" Rachel moved closer to him. "We never thought this would happen…"

"I know…" He rubbed his eyes.

"Maybe we can do something to help you…" Monica suggested.

"No, its best if you don't do anything…" He told them. "Just leave it up to me…"

"But Chandler…" Joey asked.

"No, Joe…. You can't do anything!" He raised his voice slightly, before sighing. "Just don't do anything…"

"Okay…" Joey said quietly, looking away.

They all looked at each other as Chandler silently turned and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

_**XxXxX**_

"Are you sure you can afford all this?" Ross asked Joey for the fifth time. Phoebe and him had turned up and were shocked to see the all the expensive furniture in the guy's apartment.

"Ross, if you ask that one more time…" Monica started.

"Okay…" He backed off, looking at Joey, Rachel and Monica…all of them looking nervous. "What's up you with you lot, anyway?"

"Nothing!" Joey insisted.

"No, there's definitely something going on…" Phoebe stated.

"We're fine!" Rachel replied.

"If you say so…" Ross mumbled. "So, where's Chandler?"

"In his room…"

"Why?" He frowned.

"Because he wants to be…" Rachel snapped.

"But why?"

"What am I? His mother!"

Ross opened his mouth to reply when Chandler's door open and he walked out.

"Hey man, just checking out the new stuff…its great…"

"If you say so…" He muttered, searching around for his keys.

"You look nice…" Phoebe commented. "You got a date."

"No, I got to work…"

"Work? Since when do you work during the night?" Ross laughed slightly.

"Since this afternoon…"

"Okay, what's going on?"

"I've got a job in club…" He informed them, finding his keys and shoving them in his pocket.

"You?" Phoebe laughed.

"I gotta go…" He headed for the door, ignoring he quip. "I'll see you later…"

"Chandler…" Monica stopped him. "Be careful, yeah…"

He looked at her for a moment before glancing at the others. Joey and Rachel wore the same expression as Monica, nervous, worried and concerned while Phoebe and Ross looked confused.

"I'll be fine.." He said quietly, before leaving.

**TBC**

Please review! 


	2. A new Life

**Hey, thanks for the all reviews! Love them and keep them coming…**

**Tilutation- I know everyone hurts Chandler, but its fun:D **

**LilMondlerLuver- **Sorry but there will be no Mondler :P

**A Darker World- **A new Life

"Okay, what's going on?" Ross asked, after Chandler had left.

"What? Nothing…" Monica insisted.

"Doesn't sound like nothing!" He stated. "Why is Chandler working in a bar!"

"Its more of a nightclub…" Joey cut in backing away when he received glares from Monica and Rachel.

"Look, if he's in some kind of trouble…"

"No, he's not!" Rachel claimed, sighing when Ross and Phoebe looked at her in disbelief. "He just needs the money…"

"Rach!" Monica hissed.

"Money?" Phoebe frowned slightly. "Since when does Chandler need money?"

"If he needed money why didn't he come to us?" Ross questioned.

"Maybe he didn't want to…" Monica rolled her eyes.

"And why did he buy all this stuff if he couldn't afford it…" Her brother continued.

"Well, I actually bought it…" Joey admitted quietly.

"You?" Ross looked at him. "Shouldn't it be you with a second job then?"

"Ross, don't make a big deal out of this okay..." Monica said, not wanting her brother to find out she had messed up. "Chandler knew the guy who owns the club…"

"Oh…. Well, if you're sure he's not in trouble…" He said slowly.

"He'd tell you if he was, wouldn't he?" Rachel replied.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

_**XxXxX**_

Chandler stared up at the neon sign that hung above the club door, _Liquids _spelt out in bright green and blue lights. He took a deep breath before stepping towards the door, glancing around to see no one was there yet. He slowly made his way down the steps that lead into the club and as soon as he appeared, he could feel all eyes on him. The bar staff stopped cleaning glasses and the DJ and his band paused the music that they were playing to test the sound system to stare at him.

"Chandler!" Danny entered the main room, a huge grin on his face, knowing he had won. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Yeah, okay whatever…" He muttered.

"I thought I'd start you off easy tonight… bar worker…" He stated. "Jake will show you around…"

"Hey, man, what's up…." The guy Danny had indicated to spoke.

Chandler looked at him, guessing that he was only at 18. He sighed and managed to give the kid a small smile. "Hey."

"I'll introduce you to everyone…" Jake moved him behind the bar towards him, eager to impress the boss by looking after the 'new boy.'

"Great…" Chandler replied, sarcastically but Jake either ignored it or didn't notice.

"Right, I'm normally always behind the bar with Mickey and Steve…" Jake pointed to the other two guys behind the bar.

"Hey…" Mickey answered, barely pausing from his work; not at all fussed about the newcomer.

Chandler glanced at Steve and saw him staring at him.

"What's up with him?" He asked Jake.

"Dropped on his head when he was a baby?" Jake suggested with a shrugged, causing Chandler to smile. "He doesn't really like anyone…"

"Right, okay…good to know…" Chandler replied, following him away from the bar.

"Ever worked in a bar before?" Jake questioned.

"A bit…my Dad owns some in Vegas…use to work during the summer there…"

"Oh right, cool…" He nodded. "Everyone calls me Jay by the way."

"How long have you been here?" Chandler inquired.

"About a year…just after I finished school…"

"Oh, so everything is legal here then…" Chandler quipped sarcastically.

Jay stopped and looked at him. "You're not one of those guys with morals, are you? If you are, say so now 'cos I don't wanna hang out with someone would stitch me up to the cops…"

"Calm down, kid…I know the deal here…" Chandler rolled his eyes.

"I ain't no kid!"

"Alright…" Chandler held up his hands defensively.

"So, I have to call you Chandler?"

"Well, it is my name…"

"Not a very good name…"

"Hey!"

"Oh come on, isn't there something else I can call you?"

"Are you like this with everyone or is just the new people?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for you man…"

"By taking the piss out of my name?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You said you knew the deal here…"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, then you'd know that not all the people are nice…" Jay sighed when Chandler still seemed not to get it. "They're going to laugh at your name!"

"Oh….so what?" He shrugged and carried on walking.

"You're one of these people who don't care what people think, aren't you…." Jay stated, jogging slightly to catch him up.

Chandler let out a small laugh. "Normally I would…"

"What's different now?"

"You ask a lot questions, you know that?" Chandler sighed. "I'm just not to thrill about working here…I'm gonna keep my head down and get on with it so I can quit as soon as…"

"Why are you here then?"

"You don't wanna know…"

"Fine…" He shrugged, dropping it. "So, what's your last name…is it any better then your first?"

"Not really…it's Bing…"

"Bing?" Jay laughed. "Chandler Bing…. Your parents hate you or something?"

"Oh shut up!"

Jay grinned at him as they continued to walk through the back rooms before he paused at a door, knocking once and entering without waiting for a response.

"Hey, man…this is the new guy, Ba-da…" Jay said, causing Chandler to look at him. "No? Okay then…"

"Jay, man are you ever going to grow up…" The guy rolled his eyes at the younger man.

"Probably one day…" He shrugged. "Anyway, this is Chandler…"

"How you doing?" Chandler held out his hand.

"Wow, Danny actually hired a guy with manners…I'm Andy, head of security…"

"Nice to meet you…" Chandler shook hands with him.

"Do I know you?" Andy looked at him, curiously.

"Don't think so…." Chandler replied.

"Well, anyway we need to come up with a new name for you…" Jay said again. "How about C?"

"Uh, how about no…"

"Oh, C.B…"

"C.B?" Andy questioned.

"Chandler Bing…" Jay explained. "C.B doesn't sound right anyway…"

"Bing?" Andy repeated quietly, neither of the other two heard him as he tried to remember where he heard that name before.

"Look, I don't care if people don't like my name!" Chandler insisted. "People have been making jokes about it all my life…"

"Aww, come on…don't you want a cool nickname!"

"You can tell he's still a kid, can't you?" Andy said to Chandler.

"I'm not a kid!" Jay snapped.

"How about L.C?" Andy suggested.

"What?" Chandler slowly turned to look at him.

"Where'd that come from?" Jay looked at him.

"L.C…Little Chandler…That's what you used to call you, right?"

"Ho…how did you know that?" Chandler questioned.

"Ryan…. He used to talk about you all the time…took me awhile to realise who you were…"

"You knew Ryan?" Chandler wasn't sure how to respond.

"Yeah, he's a good guy…"

"Who's Ryan?" Jay asked but was ignored.

"You been working here a long time then?"

"Yeah, so if you get any trouble from any of the others let me know…" Andy told him.

"Uh, thanks…" Chandler nodded and turned to look at Jake. "We'd better get on, haven't we?"

"Yeah, I guess…."

Jay introduced Chandler to the rest of the people who were working there, most of them were young and gave the new guy a friendly welcome but there were some of them who didn't seem to take a liking to him. He wasn't really bothered, all he wanted to do was to get on and pay back Danny what he owed.

He shrugged behind the bar at first, the place was so busy, everyone demanding drinks at the same time but after a while he got into it. The club didn't close until gone 3am and Chandler had to stay and help clear the place up.

"Not bad for your first night…" Jay commented, before glancing at the other barman. "Right, Steve?"

"He did okay…" He muttered before carrying a crate of empty bottles away.

Jay rolled his eyes. "That guy is all work and no play…would it kill him to smile once and awhile."

"Now, now…didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk about people behind their backs?" Chandler replied.

Jay stood up straight and looked at him before shrugging. "Nah…."

Chandler looked at him and laughed. He might only be a kid but Chandler already liked, at least he made one friend out of this whole nightmare. Chandler continued to clean up while he disappeared somewhere.

"Hi…."

Chandler looked up and was faced with a woman, watching him. His mouth slowly fell open as he looked at her. She was quite young, around his age but didn't seem like the girls that had been in the club that night. She wore an expensive looking red dress that showed off her amazing figure. Her beautiful auburn hair flowed past her shoulders with soft curls at the ends and she had the most gorgeous brown eyes that had ever since. A small smile tugged at her lips as he shrugged to form words.

"Uh…Hi..uh..Hey…" He stuttered.

"Hey, man the boss said we can go now…" Jay appeared again, stopping when he saw who was there. "Oh, hey…He's in his office."

"Thanks, Jay…" She flashed him a smile.

"This is the new guy by the way…" Jay told her. "L.C or Chandler…"

"Chandler…" She turned to him again and held out her hand. "I'm Danielle… nice to meet you…."

"You too…" He managed to utter as he shook her hand.

"You might wanna clean that table again…." Jay said to him causing him to break the stare that followed Danielle as she walked off.

"What?"

"It's got all your drool on it!"

"Oh shut up!"

"No seriously, don't try anything okay…. She's the boss' girl…"

"Not like I could get a girl like her anyway…" He rolled his eyes. "So, we leaving or what?"

"Yeah, let go…" Jay nodded as they headed towards the exit. "So, L.C…you working tomorrow night?"

Chandler rolled his eyes at the nickname. Jay had introduced him as L.C to everyone so now that's what they all called him. Which he wasn't to pleased about, it was something Ryan and Nick use to call him to annoy him because they knew how much he hated when his family used to call him 'Little Chandler.'

"Yeah, I think so…" Chandler started, not paying attention where he was going and ended up walking into someone. "Oh sorry…."

His voice trailed off when he saw who it was. Two of them stared at him; neither of them knew what to say. Jay looked from one to the other, curiously.

"Uh, everything okay?" He asked, but still no one spoke. "Nick, this is the new guy L.C… and this is Nick…. He runs a few clubs and bars for Mr Ingram…"

Chandler shook his head slightly and broke the look. "I've gotta go…"

"Chandler…" Nick reached out to grab his arm but he just shook him off and walked away.

_**XxXxX**_

Instead of going straight home, Chandler walked around the dark city, deep in thoughts. He wondered how he was going to get out of this mess, wondered if he'd ever be able to. He walked around Central Park for a while before stopping and sitting on a bench. He thought about everything that had happened that night and everyone he had met. He got on really well with Jay and Andy; Jay was like the little brother he never had. He sighed and ran his hands over his face, what was Nick still doing working for Ingram? He thought back to when he was 10 years old, 4 years after Ryan's death when Nick told him that he was leaving. Chandler had relied on Nick a lot over those 4 years…his parents began arguing more, acting as if he wasn't there both of them blaming each other for Ryan's death when secretly they blamed themselves. Nick had told him that he had to leave, get as far away from Ingram as he could because he didn't want to end up like Ryan…and Chandler didn't want him to end up like Ryan so he understood. When he lost his brother, his best friend Chandler started seeing the world in a different light. He learnt that anything to do with drugs was bad; he got that drilled into him…. Not by his parents but my Nick…. Nick was the only one that cared about him. Now he finds out that not only did he lie to him about leaving to get away from Ingram but he also he was leaving in New York and didn't even try to look him up. Maybe he didn't care about him that much after all…. Maybe he had always been his best friend's annoying little brother, like his parents had always told him. They use to tell him to stop bothering Nick, to stop hanging around him and when Chandler would say that he didn't mind they would just reply by saying he was doing it out of guilt for Ryan's death. He never understood at the time, he could never see why Nick would do that but know he could…. He never left…. He never changed…. he just used it as an excuse to get rid of him…

He suddenly realised that the morning sun was rising, he looked at his watch to see 3 and a half hours had past. He leant back against the wood and silently watched it…deciding it was a symbol…. A new day for a new life…. A life he didn't want.

_**TBC**_

**Please review and let me know what you think! **


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